Improvement in car-wheels



No, 119,86?, ff Patented 001:10, 1871.

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Shad 2 Vir/351.19556 [nz/enfui@- .4M PNoTo-L/rdnsHAPr/lc ca N x {asso/mik mausi] 'UNITED STATES PrrIENT-l OFFICE.

WILLIAM A. LEV/TIS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO HOLLOV-AXLE i MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF MISHAVVAKA, INDIANA.

AIMPROVEM ENT IN CAR-WHEELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 119,867, dated October 10, 1871.

To all whom it may concern: A

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. LEWIS, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and the State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and Improved Jointless Vrought-Metal Hollow Car-Vheel; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing which forms a portion of this specification.

My invention consists in constructing a carwheel of one piece of metal formed by welding together within suitably-formed dies separate sections,which sections are so shaped that one ofthem will form the central hub or bushing by which the wheel is attached to the axle, another the inner, and another the outer face of the wheel, while the tread and iiange are formed of an approximately-cylindrical rim, which, in constructing the preliminary sections, is formed in one piece with that which is to constitute one face of the wheel. If desired, in order to produce an increased thickness in the tread,I form a similar cylindrical rim upon the other face-section, but of sufficientlysmaller diameter to adapt it to nt within the first. As a further modiiicatioml propose in some cases to employ a central web or diaphragm, formed of a dat annular disk adapted to fit over the central box or bushing between the inner and outer face-plate of the wheel, the said face-plates being dished to any necessary extent.

Figure lis a longitudinal section of the hub or central tube. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of a dished plate, which is to form the outer face of the tread and the ange of the wheel. Fig. 3 is a similar section of a dished plate adapted to form the inner face-plate, and having, also, a rim which is to fit within that shown in Fig.. 2. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of the parts of the wheel within the die-box in readiness for welding together. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of the nished wheel. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sec- 4 tion of the central web or diaphragm. Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section of the wheel with the parts of the wheel disconnected.

The hub-tube a may be produced from preliminary sections, in the manner set forth in the patent of even date herewith, issued to me as assignor to the Hollow-Axle Manufacturing Company for an improved hollow metallic axle for wagons, carriages, &c. The sections I) c may be struck from highly-heated sheets of iron or steel,

by means of stationary and movable dies, in any well-known or usual manner. Iuthe process of uniting-said sections ab c into a car-wheel, I einploy a stationary die, D, and a movable die, E, of the respective shapes shown in Fig. 4, in connection with a guiding-rod, F, a heating-furnace, and some suitable power or machinery for imparting the requisite upward-and-downward movements to the said movable die E and the central guiding-rod F. The stationary die D must be rmly located in such close proximity to a heating-furnace that the iiame can be blown fromv an opening in the side of the said furnace directly over and upon the wheel-sections a b c, when they are placed in the positions upon the stationary die D, shown in Fig. 4. rlhe movable die E and the guiding-rod F having been independently elevated by suitable machinery to the proper height, the sections a. b e are with drawn from the furnace while at a welding heat, and placed in the position upon the die D represented in Fig. 4, and instantly after being so located the iiame Jom the furnace is blown therefrom; then the guiding-rod F is lowered down to the position shown in said drawing, and instantly thereafter the movable die E descends with sufficient power to force together and weld the said wheel-sections into the solid and jointless shape represented by Fig. 5 of the drawing.

Fig. 7 represents a modiiied form of my improved wrought-metal car-wheel. The only difference between this car-wheel and the one before described consists in the addition thereto of the central plate j'.

Having produced my improved wrought-metal car-wheel by the afore-described process, I may case-harden the tread and flange portions thereof by a process which requires an apparatus substantially like that represented by Figs. 8 and 9, in which H is a centrally-perforated 4metallic plate; G, a metallic curb rising from said plate; z', a ledge immediately within the curb G; and -k k are slight protuberances on the upper-face of said ledge for the rim of the car-wheel to rest upon during the case-hardening process. The curb Gr is of such a diameter as to allow the carwheel to pass, fiange downward, freely into the same; and it is of such a height as to rise a few inches above the rim of the car-wheel to be placed therein. This apparatus is placed over a tank situated conveniently to a heating-furnace, and

it is also connected by suitable conducting` apparatus with a reservoir containing a suitable solution to be used in the case-l1ardening1 process. Then, all things being ready, a car-wheel that has been raised to the proper temperature is placed within the curb G, and immediately thereafter the space between the curb and the rini of said wheel is filled with the case-hardening solution, and then the infi ow of said solution to said space is so regulated as to supply the waste caused by the outflow of the same through the spaces below the rim of the wheel, caused by the upward protuberances 7c 7c from the ledge z',- and this outflow and inflow of the said casehardening' solution is continued until the telnperature of the tread and the flange of the carwheel is sufficiently reduced to produce the desired case-hardening effect upon those portions of the surface of said wheel, and without pro- Witnesses Z. C. RoBBINs,

H. A. DANinLs. (122) 

